The GOP since Ken Mehlman and Mel Martinez:
Posted on 08/17/2007 6:29:39 AM PDT by az4vlad
What is the Republican National Committee doing attacking the two major GOP contenders for president, Giuliani and Romney (who have no history as conservatives) for being too conservative on illegal immigration? The party leadership is out of touch with not only conservative Republicans, but mainstream Republicans as well.
The Republican National Committee chairman, Mel Martinez, has come out criticizing the GOP's 2 top candidates for president, Rudy Giuliani and Mitt Romney for their positions on resolving illegal immigration . What is wrong with this picture? Giuliani and Romney are considered RINOs to many Republicans, with track records to prove it, so the Republican Party is doing Republicans no favors by attacking them for being too conservative. So far Giuliani and Romney are the only two Republican candidates with any real chance at winning the primary election (and if the RNC is that liberal on illegal immigration then it certainly won't support the more conservative Fred Thompson if he enters the race), so why is the RNC trying to scare off the conservative base even more from supporting these realistic candidates? After the Senate immigration bill fiasco, most Republicans, regardless of their stance on illegal immigration, came to a consensus that the bill had too many problems - no surprise considering it was mostly Democrats who supported it. Most Americans are gradually becoming resigned to the fact that Hillary Clinton is probably going to become our next president, unless something extraordinary takes place, like capturing Osama bin Laden. If Republicans want to keep control of the White House - which in fact is supposed to be the primary responsibility of the RNC - it is not the time to be attacking our leading candidates, who ironically represent the views of the middle-of-the-road RNC leadership better than the rest of candidates.
Giuliani is no illegal immigration hawk. He has tried to distance himself from his record in the past as New York mayor. However, even though he says he would emphasize enforcement issues more as President, he still takes a much more nuanced position than hardcore conservatives. In a recent campaign appearance in Boone, Iowa, he stated that he would not require the deportation of illegal immigrants who have children born in the U.S., unless they've committed crimes. He says he will move on to comprehensive immigration reform eventually - issues like paths to citizenship, guest worker program - after the borders are secured. He describes himself as "very practical about illegal immigration." "Good people would be given a chance," he said. "They'd have to earn it, they'd have to pay penalties and back taxes, they'd have to be able to read, write and speak English before they could become citizens. Bad people, or not such good people, would be thrown out depending on how you decided that."
Romney has criticized Giuliani recently for being soft on illegal immigration, but as recently as November 2005 Romney supported the McCain-Kennedy immigration bill, and in 2006 expressed support for a path to citizenship. Here in Arizona, where illegal immigration has been ranked by residents as the #1 issue facing Arizonans, extremely conservative Senator Jon Kyl suffered a severe backlash for supporting the Senate immigration bill this summer. Even though Kyl is considered one of the most solid conservatives in the U.S. Senate, with a lifetime rating of 96.9 from the American Conservative Union (presidential candidate Duncan Hunter only has a 92 and Tom Tancredo is barely any higher than Kyl at 97.8), the outcry from Arizona Republicans was enough to make him back off and vote against the bill's passage at one point.
So what is going on at Republican Party headquarters? The party leadership is supposed to represent the party, not the interests of a select few. Like it or not, Giuliani and Romney, arguably the two most liberal Republicans in the race for president and the only two official candidates with a realistic chance at winning, have chosen positions on this issue which fall somewhere between the liberal wing of the party and the conservatives. They should not be taken down by the very party which is supposed to represent them. Something is very wrong at Republican headquarters, which needs to be addressed before we lose this election.
Why do you think everyone went nuts when Bush put Martinez in there?
duh
The R.N.C. is run by my senator Mel Martinez. This guy makes Bozo the clown look like a genius.
I wouldn’t give the R.N.C. a nickel much less a second thought.
They should be attacking them. For being a liberal and being a moderate flip flopper, repectively. Alas, the RNC is worse than they are.
‘The party leadership is out of touch with not only conservative Republicans, but mainstream Republicans as well.’
Yes, they are.
Snort. The suits running the GOP hate conservatives as much as the 'Rats do.
The RNC is a waste of time, breath, money, and thought. Same with the Senatorial Committee.
Conservatives must re-capture (again) our party.
Because Bush and company are liberal Republicans.
Quite the opposite of Ronaldus Magnus.
These RNC people call me constantly begging for money. I tell them why they are not getting a single dime from me, and the nice person on the phone usually lowers his voice and agrees with me.
We are being betrayed by our leaders.
I dunno, but I do know that if either get the GOP nod Hillary will win the W.H. and there will be a Tsunami of immigrants instead of a flood.
This is what happens when a 'senator' is put in charge of something.
OK, I found it.
Here is the exchange between Al Hunt and Mel Martinez:
MR. HUNT: Senator, two of your party’s leading presidential candidates, Rudy Giuliani and Mitt Romney say that the immigration bill that you negotiated up on the Hill, that it would not secure the borders and that it would amount – the Z visas would amount to amnesty. Is that right?
SEN. MARTINEZ: Well, they are wrong on that and they are wrong in just criticizing. I wish that as presidential candidates, they would take the next step, which is to say, and here is how I would solve the problem.
MR. HUNT: Do you think either Governor Romney or Mayor Giuliani have done that?
SEN. MARTINEZ: No they haven’t, and I wished they would. Look, I’m impartial in the race because I also happen to be the general chair of the party, and I like both of
these gentlemen very, very much. And one of them who emerges as a nominee, whoever it does from our field, I think we’re going to have an excellent candidate. But at the same time, I have to say, on this issue they are falling short. I think it’s been too easy for too many people in the Senate and outside the Senate to simply criticize and find fault. No doubt that this is an imperfect product, but at the end of the day, what is your solution? What is your answer? This is a problem that – 12 million illegals in this country, a porous border, no national identification for work that can be biometrically verified – all of these things have to be done. The status quo is not good enough. And so whether a presidential candidate or a Senator, they need to take the step beyond criticizing and offering a solution.
This is not an attack. This is a joke of an article, meant to create division within Republican ranks.
That is basically what I tell the solicitors that call me from the RNC anymore. I tell them that the RNC has gone off the reservation and are not representing their true base and I will not donate one dime. I donate to individual candidates that are truly conservative.
the RNC in PA was defacto supporter of pig murtha!
It was posted yesterday!
Ain’t gonna happen as long as the party supports RINO turds.
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